A RARE YIXING SLIP-DECORATED BRUSHPOT BY YANG JICHU, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD |

of cylindrical form, the exterior delicately decorated in coloured slip in the manner of ink painting, depicting a continuous landscape with a sage clad in blue robes carrying a staff below two gnarled trees, holding the hands of a small boy and slowly journeying towards plateaued mountains in a distance, in the foreground some scattered shrubs growing from rocky ledges below birds in flight, the stoneware of a mottled beige-brown tone, the recessed base with a square seal signed Yang Jichu

Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong.

Good overall condition with just minor staining and insignificant surface wear, especially at the base.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Yang Jichu was a ceramic artist famous for his exquisitely created Yixing stoneware brushpots, particularly slip-decorated ones. Recorded in Chongkan jingxi xianzhi [The republished Jingxi gazetteer] complied by Tang Zhongmian during the Qing dynasty, Yang Jichu was said to have being active in the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, at the same time as the Yixing master Chen Hanwen. On the current brushpot, Yang Jichu skilfully utilised a combination of intricate slip-decoration in various colours and overall negative space to depict a vivid windswept landscape scene. A number of brushpots by Yang Jichu, both bearing his seal mark and with Qianlong reign mark, is preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing. For a brushpot with related composition and similar Yang Jichu seal mark in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Purple Sandy Ware, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 145, pl. 115. Compare also a Qianlong mark and period Yixing stoneware brushpot which is clearly by the hand of Yang Jichu, illustrated ibid., p. 143, pl. 113.

For closely related brushpots by Yang Jichu sold at auction, see one from the collection of Jimmy Sha, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 27th May 2012, lot 548; another from the Robert H. Blumenfeld collection, sold at Christie's New York, 22nd March 2012, lot 1246; and a third from the Mr and Mrs Gerard Hawthorn collection, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 28th November 2011, lot 208.